Constitution amendment: As state Assemblies reject LG autonomy

EZREL TABIOWO recaps the struggles for local government autonomy in the country against the backdrop of the intervention of the National Assembly during this year’s review of the constitution, and its recent rejection by the state assemblies

In Nigeria, the struggle for local government autonomy dates back into colonial times. In the 1950s various reforms such as the Northern Nigeria local government law of 1954, the Western and Eastern Nigeria local government laws of 1954 respectively aimed at democratizing local government administration were initiated by the various regional governments. Despite these attempts, the regions had strong grip of the control of local governments for varying political reasons.
This master-servant relationship did not change for the better until the 1976 local government reforms. In the forward of the guidelines for 1976 local government reforms, it was remarked that “the state government have continued to encroach upon what would have been the exclusive preserve of local government”.
The federal government therefore granted the local government the power of grassroots governance, thus became the third tiers of government in the Country.
Undoubtedly, there has been improvement in the degree of autonomy granted the local government since 1976, with more functions giving to it. To strengthen the philosophy of the government, it went further to guarantee the statutory nature of local government by em- bodying it in the 1979 constitution section 7(1) of the said constitution stated: “the system of democratically elected local government councils is under this constitution guaranteed”. In spite of the inclusion of this in the constitution, the civilian administration between 1979-83 seriously bastardized the so-called autonomy.
Recall that successive military regimes tried to give local government its rightful position through the revitalization and restructuring of local government system in Nigeria. The Babangida administration since 1985 made conscious efforts to strengthen local government system by enhancing its autonomy.
Certain measure of autonomy came the way of local governments in January 1988 with the scrapping of the State Ministries of local government throughout the Country. This was to remove the political control and bureaucratic redtapism created by the Ministries in the developmental performance of local government councils.
Also, the local government election conducted in December 1987 was an attempt to restore democracy to the grassroots since the last election to the local councils in 1976, whose life expired in December 1979. Other efforts geared towards local government autonomy were the approved scheme of service for local government employees, following the recommendation of the Oyeyipo committee report of March 1988.
To enhance financial autonomy and regular sources of revenue, there was the direct disbursement of funds to local governments, thus preventing the hijacking of the funds of local governments by the state governments.
In a similar direction, the federal government increased the statutory allocation to local governments; for instance it was increased from 10 – 15% in 1990 and from 15 – 20% in 1992. To further ensure the viability of the local governments, the federal allocation to local government increased from N1.177 billion in 1986 to N8.1 billion in 1991. The monthly allocation from the federal account moved from N675 million in 1991 to N1 billion since January 1992 and so on.
But events between 1999 till date demonstrate that local governments in the country have been left at the mercy of the state governments, a development which re-introduced the slave-master relationship that once existed before 1976.

Limitation to LG autonomy
Despite several attempts to ensure autonomy for LGs in the country through the implementation of the 1976 reforms, there has been difficulty practising an enduring autonomy in Nigerian Local Government.
Reason responsible for same are an amalgam of bottlenecks that have been put on the ways of an emergent autonomous Local Government. Such bottlenecks are constitutional provisions, political instability in the polity, financial/fiscal problems.

NASS intervention
Determined in its bids to clear the constitutional obstacles in the way of ensuring autonomy for Local Governments in the country, the National Assembly had in October this year, transmitted to the State Houses of Assembly 23 items it had amended in the constitution.
The reason for so doing was to obtain concurrence from 2/3 of the 36 states Houses of Assembly in line with meeting with constitutional provisions for amendments to the constitution.
Among the items forwarded to the state Houses of Assembly for the required concurrence, were proposals for financial autonomy for local government councils as against joint account stipulated by the 1999 constitution, financial autonomy for state Houses of Assembly, separation of office of Attorney General of the Federal and that of the Minister of Justice, ditto for offices of Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice at state level etc.
But only last week, indications emerged that the proposal made by the National Assembly for granting of financial autonomy to the 774 Local Government Councils in the country was rejected by the state assemblies.
During the presentation of reports of conference of Speakers of State Houses of Assembly on the constitution alteration bill last week Friday at the National Assembly, the chairman of the conference of speakers, Hon Samuel Ikon, in a disclosure said that the state legislators had this time around, concurred to financial autonomy for the state Assemblies, he was silent on what happened to the proposal on local government autonomy.
Ikon who is the Speaker of Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly, added that the required concurrence from at least 24 of the 36 state Houses of Assembly was also given to the constitution amendment proposal for separation of offices of Attorney General and that of the Minister or Commissioner of Justice at both the federal and state level.
The lawmaker was however silent on the question for autonomy for local governments in the country.
He said: “Few weeks back, we the speakers of the State Houses of Assembly were here to receive the resolutions of the conference committee of the National Assembly on Constitution Review containing 23 items for concurrence from us and I assured then on behalf of other speakers that we shall stand on the side of the people and democracy as far the proposed items for amendments were concerned.
“Today, I am happy to inform you all with these resolutions of ours we are transmitting to National Assembly, that we have stood on the side of the people and acted to further deepen democracy in our country.
“We have specifically concurred to the need for financial autonomy for state Houses of Assembly, separation of the office of Attorney General and that of Minister of Justice at both the federal and state levels etc”.
The Senate President, David Mark, in his remarks which suggested that the issue of autonomy for local government was again flushed down the drain said: “I appreciate the fact that we have amended some aspects of the constitution and that we are going to amend some aspect of the constitution based on what we have drafted  but let me make one point clear, it doesn’t matter how many times we amend the constitution, it doesn’t matter how often we rewrite the constitution unless the operators are prepared to go by the constitution.
“So the exercise is not just a matter of amendment but we the operators, Nigerians must also be prepared to adhere strictly to the constitution. That is the critical aspect of it, it is not constitution amended to serve any particular section, or a constitution to be obeyed by a section of this country or any group of Nigerians.
“It is a constitution that is binding on all of us irrespective of our position in the society, irrespective of our position in the country. So, we the operators are very important and we are key in the working of the constitution.
“ I have not read the areas that you have gotten more that the required percentage. so I can’t make comment on it but the Speaker of Akwa Ibom State said that the one of state legislature has passed the required test in other words the financial autonomy of the state legislature. I think that was one of the areas where in the first amendments, that the state assemblies did not have the courage to do it but I must congratulate you for the courage.
“One of the areas which I think we ask you to approve also, is the local government autonomy. I don’t know if you had the courage to do that, but if you have not concurred to  it now, no problem, it is a continuous exercise, it shall be represented in subsequent exercise later.”